When we talk about better internet, it is easy to focus on speed.
But what can a better connection actually help you do?
Can it help you build a business from your hometown? Work remotely without moving to a larger city? Learn a new skill? Reach new customers? Stay connected to family and your community?
Those questions are at the centre of the first episode of The Fibre Files, a new podcast sponsored by our parent company, PomeGran, and shared with the NIVO community.
Hosted by award-winning broadcaster Sam Laprade, The Fibre Files explores what connectivity means for the people and communities using it every day.
Beyond Broadband
In Episode 1, Beyond Broadband: What Connectivity Means to Rural Communities, Sam speaks with Tamara Moellenberg, Partner at ReD Associates, about how connectivity is changing opportunities for people living and working in rural communities.
Their conversation goes beyond internet speeds and technology.
They discuss entrepreneurs who can reach customers outside their local markets, professionals who can work remotely while living closer to family, and young people who can access education, information and new skills from their own communities.
Better connectivity does not change what makes a community unique. It can give the people who live there more options.
Staying Local Without Limiting Opportunity
For many people in rural communities, pursuing certain careers, education or business opportunities has traditionally meant travelling long distances or moving somewhere else.
Connectivity is helping change that.
A local business can have a digital storefront that reaches customers across the country. Someone can work for an organization hundreds of kilometres away while continuing to live in their hometown. Students can access learning opportunities and communities of interest online.
Geography still matters. Community still matters. The difference is that where you live does not have to define everything you can access.
Listening to Rural Communities
The episode also highlights something that matters to us at NIVO: rural communities are not all the same.
Every community has its own history, industries, priorities and needs. Building better connectivity starts with understanding those differences and listening to the people who live there.
As PomeGran continues building fibre infrastructure and NIVO brings internet service to more communities, we believe those local perspectives should remain part of the conversation.
That is why we are sharing The Fibre Files.
Watch or Listen to Episode 1
The Fibre Files: Beyond Broadband, What Connectivity Means to Rural Communities is available now.
Join Sam Laprade and Tamara Moellenberg for a conversation about entrepreneurship, remote work, education, artificial intelligence, community life and why the value of broadband extends far beyond a speed test.
Stream on Spotify or watch The Fibre Files on our NIVO YouTube Channel.